Apple coming to RTP

[budwom]

How many times have I told you, roundabouts, not traffic circles. And traffic signals, not stop lights!

heard a great presentation a few years ago from a roundabout expert...he made the thoroughly convincing case that there are right and wrong ways to do these things, and we have both around one, one very large (too large) ill conceived one, and quite a few that are well done and definitely work nicely.

[Acymetric]

heard a great presentation a few years ago from a roundabout expert...he made the thoroughly convincing case that there are right and wrong ways to do these things, and we have both around one, one very large (too large) ill conceived one, and quite a few that are well done and definitely work nicely.

I like traffic circles in neighborhoods, don't care for them as much on bigger/busier roads (both as a driver and as a pedestrian...looking at you Hillsborough Street).

[aimo]

We call them auxiliary lanes. They are absolutely necessary to the “good” operation of the road where you have closely spaced interchanges as we do on that stretch of 40. There’s not enough room for separate on and off ramps, as they overlap, so the auxiliary lane acts as both, and provides that weave area. You would like those areas much less if they weren’t there.

And since you love them so much, I’m going to put MORE in, between 147 and 55 westbound, Airport and Aviation (both directions - WB’s already in) and eventually Aviation to Harrison.

So, 55 at 147 has been a mess for years now. Every time I drive it (months apart) it is different. So how exactly is it going to be more nightmarish than it already is? BTW, 55 and the freeway are precisely why I started going to work the long way. A longer drive was worth less stress.

[-jk]

heard a great presentation a few years ago from a roundabout expert...he made the thoroughly convincing case that there are right and wrong ways to do these things, and we have both around one, one very large (too large) ill conceived one, and quite a few that are well done and definitely work nicely.

DU82 gives those presentations!

-jk

[mpj96]

^ just don't build now (unless you have a firm contract from months ago)...the price of lumber is completely out of whack, it should stabilize at some point,

I've been seriously thinking about building which based on my track record of home purchases (2000 and 2007) means we are close to the top.

[Furniture]

I like traffic circles in neighborhoods, don't care for them as much on bigger/busier roads (both as a driver and as a pedestrian...looking at you Hillsborough Street).

I love roundabouts. Super efficient way of keeping traffic flowing. When I moved to the US I really missed them. One thing I do like here however is the allowable (mostly) right turn at stop lights. Also very efficient and I don’t think I have ever come across such a thing in other countries.

[Kdogg]

I've been seriously thinking about building which based on my track record of home purchases (2000 and 2007) means we are close to the top.

I have a good friend who also has that power. He also just bought a home…..

[DU82]

So, 55 at 147 has been a mess for years now. Every time I drive it (months apart) it is different. So how exactly is it going to be more nightmarish than it already is? BTW, 55 and the freeway are precisely why I started going to work the long way. A longer drive was worth less stress.

There will be an auxiliary lane between the on-ramp from SB 147 to The off-ramp to NC 55 on westbound I-40. The merge there is a problem, and the auxiliary lane will provide more distance to do that weave. There’s also a subtle hill that tends to slow drivers down, adding to the bottleneck. Haven’t checked the revised schedule for the project (thanks to money woes, most of our projects have been delayed.)

On NC 147, good news and bad news. There’s a project called the East End connector that will link the freeway to I-85 north via US 70. The road will then be renamed I-885 between I-85 and I-40. The bad news is the bottleneck on 147 between I-40 and the new connection isn’t scheduled to be widened for a few years. That project will also improve the SB connection to I-40 that we had to reduce to one lane when I-40 was widened circa 2005.

[DU82]

So, 55 at 147 has been a mess for years now. Every time I drive it (months apart) it is different. So how exactly is it going to be more nightmarish than it already is? BTW, 55 and the freeway are precisely why I started going to work the long way. A longer drive was worth less stress.

Replying a second time realizing that you were talking about the interchange close to downtown. There are/were two projects there. First was the replacement of the bridge on 55 over 147. It was 50+ years old, and had been hit by over-height trucks a few too many times (it’s no where as low as the infamous 11’8” bridge on Gregson next to Brightleaf Square.). The second project is the widening of NC 55 north of 147 up to NC 98. That project involves two bridges, including a big RR ‘bridge over 55. That project is taking forever, and I don’t know why. (coordination with the typically non-responsive RR company(s) is the likely delay.)

Another scheduled project is an extra SB ‘lane on 55 between Meridian Parkway and the I-40 eastbound ramp intersection (big right-turn there.). This was jokingly refer’s to as my “safe route to home” project, as I used to drive that every day. It got delayed, so I moved. (Well, it wasn’t the main reason I moved, it was more my knees telling me that a single level house was better than my old two-story townhouse!). Pre-COVID, 55 also provides an alternate route for 147, and when it was backed up in the evening, SB 55 was a mess.